This One's For You, Partner
by Forwhateveritsworth
Summary: A fluffy one shot setat the end of S5E10. Deeks heads back to his apartment after learning that Kensi has been shipped off by Hetty indefinitely. The fic follows Deeks' thought process as he tries to come to terms with whatever the immediate future will hold for him. Rated T for mild swearing.


Deeks arrived home that night feeling utterly defeated. Kensi was gone. He had no idea why, where or for how long. All he knew was that Hetty had made it happen. Maybe she knew about their _thing_. Maybe she deliberately did it just to keep them apart from each other - worried that two of her agents forming a closer partnership would result in the team being compromised. Maybe Kensi was just the best NCIS agent for the job. Quite frankly with Hetty, it was best not to ask too many questions or read too deeply into it.

He unlocked the door and was greeted by Monty's familiar whining. It was late and his faithful companion was demanding his dinner. Chuckling to himself, Deeks lent forward slightly to greet Monty and ruffle the fur around his neck. "It's just going to be you and me for a while, buddy" he whispered sadly, "... just like old times, eh?" Monty barked in response and Deeks was unsure if he was somehow sensing his master's upset and being sympathetic or, perhaps more likely, growing impatient that he was still yet to be fed.

The corner lamp Deeks had left on for Monty illuminated his passage though to the kitchen, where he busied himself preparing his companion's dinner. After the day him and the team had had, his mind was swimming and his face was still aching from Kensi's right hook. There were so many unsaid things hanging in the air between him and Kensi and now they'd lost the chance to talk about it. It's not like communicating came particularly easily to them, even at the best of times, but having the chance to try would have been nice. He silently cursed Hetty again, feeling ever so slightly guilty as he did so.

So what now? What was he meant to do without her? Kensi was still his partner and he hoped - no, knew - that she'd make it back in one piece, he just wasn't sure when that would be. He knew that tomorrow would be a long day. Sam and Callen would probably take pity on him in their own special way, which meant Sam and Callen would effectively gently bully him in an attempt to lighten the mood. Deeks knew they'd picked up on the tension from today; he'd already admitted to Callen that Kensi told him to take the shot but he didn't. He'd already accepted full responsibility for his mistake. He wished now he'd just taken the damn shot, maybe things would be different if he had? It didn't matter though, Callen had seemed thoroughly unconvinced and Deeks had caught him giving him the stink eye several times throughout the day until he and Kensi had finally managed to get their shit together and work as partners once more, successfully completing their mission.

So here he was, alone with his thoughts. Well, his thoughts and Monty, who was noisily digging into his dinner, dropping half of it on the kitchen floor as he greedily ate. What would he be doing if Kensi were here with him? Oh… No, no. Maybe it was best not to think about that right now, not after what had happened last time she and him were alone in his apartment. He couldn't let his mind drift down that road, it would open up even more emotional pain and he'd definitely had enough of that for one day.

This wasn't happening, he couldn't allow himself to dwell too much. Kensi was probably on her way to kick some ass while he was stood fighting back hot tears watching his scruffy dog spill wet food all over the floor. Beer was the best way to handle things right now. Beer solved everything, right?

Heading back to the couch, he threw himself down and tried to ignore the the flash of memories filling his head that reminded him of Kensi's eyes staring longingly into his, something that had occurred in this very spot just 24 hours earlier. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling, willing himself to stay composed. God, this was going to be hard. For 5 years they'd been partners, seeing each other daily unless one or the other was on a classified mission. For 5 years Deeks had relied on her to have his back and she had relied on him to do the same. But now she wasn't here to watch over him and, more upsettingly, he wasn't around to watch over her. Kensi was the bravest, strongest woman he had ever known, but he still hated the idea of not being there to protect her.

Monty re-entered the room and jumped up onto the couch, joining Deeks in a rather smelly yet comforting cuddle. Absentmindedly he began to ruffle Monty's fur once more while Monty looked up appreciatively. I suppose he'd have to get used to this again, for a while at least. Monty and Deeks. Deeks and Monty. Meeks? Donty? Either way it didn't sound as good as Deeks and Kensi: Densi. He smiled broadly to himself as his train of thought explored various pet names for their, hopefully impending, relationship. He'd have to tell Kens about them the next time he saw her; she would absolutely hate them and he would tease her relentlessly until she gave in and either hit him or, more pleasingly, used her lips to shut him up.

Grinning once more and with a deep little chuckle, he held his beer out in front of him and spoke into the empty living room. "This one's for you, partner. Go kick that bad guy's butt and get back here, we've got unfinished business." And with that, he took a long swig of beer from the bottle before turning his attention to Monty's scruffy little face.


End file.
